Title: The Civil War: A Spiritual Experience!
Grade Levels:
9-12
Subjects:
Chorus, Show Choir & Musical Theatre
Learner
Outcomes: The student will be able to:
-
discuss the ability of the American spiritual to convey images, feelings,
and meanings.
-
identify through text and musical composition some of the spirituals
performed in The Civil War.
-
discuss the various meanings of the spirituals performed in The Civil
War.
Duration of
Lesson: Two 90 minute classes
Materials:
Technology
Tools/Courseware: CD Player & Data Projector
Teacher
Notes:
-
Prepare copies of the study guide to The Civil War spirituals
for discussion.
-
Schedule projector through the school/county for PowerPoint
presentation. (WARNING: This PowerPoint presentation is a HUGE
file. You may want to download and save
it to disk to use later.)
-
Prepare text on computer to display on projector for class.
Procedures:
Day 1
-
Show PowerPoint presentation to give a brief overview of the musical.
-
Distribute study guides and discuss the characteristics found in spirituals.
-
Listen to recordings from The Civil War of the spirituals listed
on the study guide.
-
Have students answer the study guide questions on their own for class
discussion on the following day.
Day 2
-
Go over the study guide questions in class using the teacher's
guide to involve the students in a group discussion.
-
Ask students to site any other examples of songs that they know
which address social issues.
-
Listen to the recordings again and have the students to write a paragraph
describing the images and feelings that are evoked by the music and text.
Modifications:
Special learners may need more time in writing their descriptive paragraph.
Should prepare cassette recordings of the spirituals and allow them to
take the assignment home if necessary.
Enrichment
Activities: Collaboration with the English and Music Theory classes in
the creation of an original spiritual to be performed by the choir. The
English class would write the text and the music theory class would compose
the music.
Evaluation/Assessment:
Students will be evaluated by the teacher through their participation in
class discussion and by the content of the writing assignment.
State Standards:
West Virginia IGOs for
Choral Music Grades 9-12
-
CIV.17, CIV.19, CVI.16, CVI.17, CVII.15
National Standards:
West
Virginia Process/Workplace Objectives
Job/Career
Clusters: Fine Arts & Humanities
References:
a) The Civil War
b) Prentice Hall Literature: The American Experience, 1989
Date Created:
June 16, 1999
